The Bangalore Queer Film Festival 2014 Call for Entries

The 6th Bangalore Queer Film Festival

Call for Entries

Last date for submissions: 15 January 2014

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival is open for submissions for 2014!

 We invite you to send us your short and full-length features, short and long documentaries, animation and experimental films. Please send us your entries and pass this call on to friends, lovers and colleagues who might want to send in theirs.

BQFF 2013 brought us a whole range of some-powerful, some-madcap, some-tear jerking cinematic numbers – a set of highly unusual Indian short films, such as Snarky Baudelaire,Item Number, Lonely Walls and Raat Baaki; exceptionally moving documentaries such asHow to Survive a Plague, Call me Kuchu, In-between Days, Madame and Lesbian Factory; Cary Cronenwett’s archival re-visioning of the Kronstadt Uprising of 1921 in Maggots and Men;  Ira Sachs’ portrayal of love and addiction in Keep the Lights On as our opening night premiere, the lesbian period drama The Night Watch as our centrepiece and Khavn De La Cruz’s fabulously intriguing Mondomanila as our closing night premiere.

Besides the films, the festival included an exhibition of politically engaging artwork by transgender artist Living Smile Vidya, and activist Sylvia Karpagam, as well as the photographs that were a part of the ManiFest drag photo project. Our performers also kept their yearly promise of packing the hall with a wildly applauding audience.

We hope to be able to bring the same kind of film-viewing experience to our ever-growing audiences this coming year as well.

Please submit your films for preview. The final schedule of films will be selected in the second week of February 2014.  (See contact details below to ask for submission forms.) Please note the following suggestions:

Films

We accept films made by directors on themes related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and other queer populations. Films that challenge traditional gender and sex / sexuality notions are welcome.

Genres

Please submit films of any form: Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Animation or Experimental.

Preview copies

Submit preview copies of full films online (through vimeo, youtube etc. or by sending the full film via Dropbox or similar file transfers) or by sending us the DVD copies to our address. Preview copies submitted for selection will not be returned. Copies of all films will be kept with the BQFF Archives.

Format of Final Submission

Final submissions are expected on high-quality DVDs only. Contact the organisers if you require more information or want to use other formats.

Subtitles

Since accents vary even among English language films, all films should preferably have subtitles in English.

Submission/mailing costs

Mailing costs for the submissions have to be borne by the director/producer/distributor. The BQFF cannot, at this juncture, support the costs of receiving copies for preview. Please contact the organisers if you are unable to bear these costs so as to arrange for alternative ways to send your films to us.

Screening Costs

As always the BQFF is a FREE event and no charges are levied on submissions. Additionally, only films that do not charge screening fees will be accepted.

Submission Address

All preview copies should be sent to the following address.

Please write “BQFF 2014” on the cover of your submission.

SWABHAVA

4th Floor, M. S. Plaza

No. 1, 13th ‘A’ Cross

4th Main, Sampangiramnagar

Bangalore – 560 027

Karnataka, India

Phone: +91-80-22230959

Mobile: +91-9844181294

Decision making process

The festival organising committee and the BQFF Preview Committee will preview all films submitted. Directors or producers or the distributors will be contacted immediately on selection of their films and any additional requests for material or publicity may be made at the time. More information about selection of films will be made available soon. Films that have not been selected will be informed separately.

Contact BQFF

For any queries regarding the festival, submission, or any other matter please contact:

Email:             blrqueerfilmfest@gmail.com
Web:               http://blrqueerfilmfest.com

Phone:            +91-80-22230959 (Office) or +91-9844181294 (mobile)

Organisations involved

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival is organised by Good As You (GAY), SWABHAVA Trust, We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!) and Pirat Dykes. GAY (www.goodasyou.in) is a support group (est. 1994) for LGBT people in Bangalore and is one of the oldest support groups in India. SWABHAVA Trust (est. 1999) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation working with LGBT issues, including providing access to support services in Bangalore. Both GAY and Swabhava have co-hosted previous queer film festivals in Bangalore. We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!), is a queer women’s support group (estd. 2009). GAY and WHAQ! regularly organise film screenings at their weekly meetings. Pirat Dykes is a group set up to screen films that do not generally get mainstream releases in India. All the groups are non-funded and depend on community donations to function.

QRadio with Radiowallah.in: Mari Eva, Romal Singh and more.

Long story short, since it's late and I am lazy: Radiowallah is an internet radio station, and it has several channels. The one we're interested in is QRadio.

QRadio, India's first radio channel, is a space that celebrates your gender indentity (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, Gender queers, Allies and the Heterosexuals to) through shows where you can talk about the serious (society, acceptance, parents, rules, laws, policies, abuse) and the fun stuff (dating, sex, fashion, food). 

One of the shows is run by Romal Singh:

Another one starts tomorrow, hosted by WhaQ's founder and general lovely, Mari Eva.

QRadio is launching a brand new show all about Queer women starting TOMORROW!!!  Would be great if you all call in and give me support: I'm gonna host it!  We all know this is just about the perfect job for me, like, in EVER. ;)
It'll be from 12-2pm Thursdays and Saturdays. I'd love to have you on as guests on the show talking about everything that is feminine, queer, trans, les and bi as a woman in India today...we can be anonymous if you want, but we really want to hear from you! 
So please do call in and say hello on air! The number to call is 080 415 28 333. I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Mari's first guest will be Antara Pal, a Bangalore/Hyderabad DJ and general awesome person. Tune in tomorrow at twelve!

Bangalore Queer Pride 2012 schedule

website: http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/
email: blrpride@gmail.com

Contact us to volunteer, donate, or for more details!

Thursday, November 22

6:30pm

 Transgender Remembrance Day

When Thu, November 22, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Where Town Hall

Description There will be a candlelight vigil to commemorate our lost and loved ones from the trans communities.
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=132

Friday, November 23

5:00pm

 TABOO photography exhibit launch

When Fri, November 23, 5pm – 6pm

Where No. 1 Shanthi Road, Shantinagar, Bangalore 560027 (map)

Description Six photography projects on the theme of TABOO - http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=77

7:00pm

 Ek Madhav Baag (Hindi)

When  Fri, November 23, 7pm – 8pm

Where Jaaga, No 68, KH Double Road, Opposite Corporation Bank, Next to KH Road bus stand, Banglore 560027 (map)

Description This poignant play tells the story of a 21 year old youth coming to terms with his sexuality. The play is seen from the view point of his mother. http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=137

Saturday, November 24

11:00am

 Garage Sale!

When Sat, November 24, 11am – 6pm

Where Alternative Law Forum, 122/4 Infantry Road (opposite Infantry Wedding House) Bangalore 560001 (nearest bus stop- Shivajinagar Depot) (map)

Description Reduce, reuse, recycle, and when all else fails, send it to your local fundraising garage sale for Bengaluru Pride and Karnataka Queer Habba 2012! http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=127

Sunday, November 25

12:00pm

 Pride Mela at Jaaga

When Sun, November 25, 12pm – 7pm

Where Jaaga, No 68, KH Double Road, Opposite Corporation Bank, Next to KH Road bus stand, Banglore 560027 (map)

Description The Bangalore Queer Pride is proud to present to you the 2012 Pride Mela. This year we are coming back more colourful, louder and awesomer than ever! http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=88

Monday, November 26
5:00pm

 Posters/Accessory Making Workshop at ALF

When Mon, November 26, 5pm – 7pm

Where Alternative Law Forum, 122/4 Infantry Road (opposite Infantry Wedding House) Bangalore 560001 (nearest bus stop- Shivajinagar Depot) (map)

Description Come to ALF to make posters and prideful accessories we can display during Bangalore Queer Pride March 2012!

Tuesday, November 27
6:00pm

 Theaters of the Body Workshop

When Tue, November 27, 6pm – 10pm

Where Jaaga, No 68, KH Double Road, Opposite Corporation Bank, Next to KH Road bus stand, Banglore 560027 (map)

Description Attend this theater workshop with Kareem Khubchandani. http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=154

Wednesday, November 28

6:00pm

 Karnataka Police Act Panel Discussion and Performance

When Wed, November 28, 6pm – 8pm

Where Vishranti Nilayam, 18, CSI Womens House, Infantry Road, Infantry Road, (near The Hindu office) Bangalore, Karnataka 560001 (map)
Description We will dramatize the many oppressions faced by transgenders, and the additional oppression generated by KPA 36 (A), following which we will moderate a discussion with the audience on the way forward to combat this policy and the political system around us.
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=309

Thursday, November 29
7:00pm

 Posters/Accessory Making Workshop at Swabhava

When Thu, November 29, 7pm – 9pm

Where Swabhava, 4th Floor, M. S. Plaza, 13th “A” Cross, 4th Main, Sampangiramnagar, Bangalore 560027 (map)

DescriptionCome to the Swabhava center and help make posters we can carry and display during Pride March 2012!

Friday, November 30
6:00pm

 Biryani

When Fri, November 30, 6pm – 7pm

Where No. 1 Shanthi Road, Shantinagar, Bangalore 560027 (map)

Description Performance piece by our mangalamukhi sister, where she prepares delicious Biryani while engaging the audience with a monologue about life as a transgender. Join us for this multi-sensory performance piece.
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=311

7:30pm

 Diversity Kooth Night!

When Fri, November 30, 7:30pm – 11:30pm

Where Tango Calypso restaurants, # 44, Richmond Road, Bangalore, India 560025 (map)

Description Entry fee + Cover charge = Rs 150 + Rs 150 (profits will go towards the Bengaluru Pride 2012 fund)
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=258

Saturday, December 1
5:00pm

 Queer Words at Atta Galatta

When Sat, December 1, 5pm – 8pm

Where Atta Galatta, 75, 2nd Main Rd, Koramangala 1st Block, Bangalore, 560096 (map)

Description We invite poets, comedians, singers, writers to share their work in this open–mic format.
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=31

7:30pm

 Lavender Nights V

When Sat, December 1, 7:30pm – 11:30pm

Where Fireflies (Lavelle Road and Vital Mallya Road Junction, above Cafe Coffee Day) (map)

Description Lavender Nights is going to rock Bangalore once again with its FIFTH All Women Party at FIREFLIES, one of the most lovely venues in Bangalore, with a great central location for everyone’s convenience.
 http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=265

Sunday, December 2

2:00pm

 Bengaluru Queer Pride March!

When Sun, December 2, 2pm – 5pm

Where Tulsi Park to Town Hall. Wear your walking boots!  (map)

Description Come march with us!
http://bengalurupride.herokuapp.com/?p=5

Queer Reads Bangalore: 1st meeting postponed!

So - we  are now meeting on the 11th of November, at 4 pm. I suggest Swabhava for our first meet, and after that we can shift venues to other places we can choose. 4 to 6 pm.

 

QUEER READS BANGALORE is a reading group, open to anyone, everyone, age, gender, race, orientation, class, caste no bar - and we shall focus on novels, shorts, novellas, plays, poems - all that is written, and written in the creative sphere - that are concerned with Queer and Questioning, Unidentified, Intersexed, Lesbian, Transgender and Transsexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay and Genderqeer themes, people, communities and issues - no matter the orientation of the person who wrote them. On the other side of the coin, we shall read literature by Queer and Questioning, Unidentified, Intersexed, Lesbian, Transgender and Transsexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay and Genderqeer writers irrespective of how non-heteronormative their literature may seem on the surface.

Think QUILTBAG literature. :)



To read:

THE PREGNANT KING is written by Devdutt Pattanaik. You can find it on Flipkart.

We're still feeling our way through this, but come, bring friends. Come if you love the book, HATE the book, didn't understand the book - disagreement is good, complete harmony is good, everything but you not saying anything is good.

From Devdutt Pattanaik's website

"The Hindu epic, Mahabharata, written over 2000 years ago, narrates the tale of one Yuvanashva, a childless king, who accidentally drinks the magic potion meant to make his queens pregnant. The child thus conceived in and delivered from his body grows up to be Mandhata, a ruler of great repute.

What does the son call Yuvanashva? Father or mother? Can mothers be kings? Can kings be mothers? In the ancient epic, and the sacred chronicles known as the Puranas, which hurry through this slip of a tale, nobody raises these uncomfortable questions. They do so in this book.

And so a new narrative emerges: a fiction fashioned out of mythological and imaginary tales where lines are blurred between men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.

There is Pruthalashva, who must be father because he is a man, and Shilavati, who cannot be king because she is a woman. There is Sthunakarna, a Yaksha, who forsakes his manhood to make Shikhandi a husband and then reclaims it to make Somavat a wife. There is Arjuna, a great warrior with many wives, who is forced to masquerade as a woman after being castrated by a nymph. There is Ileshwar Mahadev, god on full moon days and goddess of new moon nights and Adi-Natha, the teacher of teachers, worshipped as a hermit by Yaja and an enchantress by Upayaja. And finally there is Yuvanashva, the hero, king of Vallabhi, who after marrying three times to three very different women, creates a life within him, as mothers do, and then a life outside him, as fathers do, and wonders if he is either, neither or both.

If biology is destiny, if gender is a cornerstone of dharma, then how does Yuvanashva make room for such disruptions in order? For a good king, who wants to be great, must be fair to all: those here, those there and all those in between."

Queer Reads Bangalore: first meeting: THE PREGNANT KING by Devdutt Pattanaik

QUEER READS BANGALORE is a reading group, open to anyone, everyone, age, gender, race, orientation, class, caste no bar - and we shall focus on novels, shorts, novellas, plays, poems - all that is written, and written in the creative sphere - that are concerned with Queer and Questioning, Unidentified, Intersexed, Lesbian, Transgender and Transsexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay and Genderqeer themes, people, communities and issues - no matter the orientation of the person who wrote them. On the other side of the coin, we shall read literature by Queer and Questioning, Unidentified, Intersexed, Lesbian, Transgender and Transsexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay and Genderqeer writers irrespective of how non-heteronormative their literature may seem on the surface.

Think QUILTBAG literature. :)

So - we meet on the 4th of November, at 4 pm. I suggest Swabhava for our first meet, and after that we can shift venues to other places we can choose. 4 to 6 pm.


To read:

THE PREGNANT KING is written by Devdutt Pattanaik. You can find it on Flipkart.

We're still feeling our way through this, but come, bring friends. Come if you love the book, HATE the book, didn't understand the book - disagreement is good, complete harmony is good, everything but you not saying anything is good.

From Devdutt Pattanaik's website

"The Hindu epic, Mahabharata, written over 2000 years ago, narrates the tale of one Yuvanashva, a childless king, who accidentally drinks the magic potion meant to make his queens pregnant. The child thus conceived in and delivered from his body grows up to be Mandhata, a ruler of great repute.

What does the son call Yuvanashva? Father or mother? Can mothers be kings? Can kings be mothers? In the ancient epic, and the sacred chronicles known as the Puranas, which hurry through this slip of a tale, nobody raises these uncomfortable questions. They do so in this book.

And so a new narrative emerges: a fiction fashioned out of mythological and imaginary tales where lines are blurred between men and women, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.

There is Pruthalashva, who must be father because he is a man, and Shilavati, who cannot be king because she is a woman. There is Sthunakarna, a Yaksha, who forsakes his manhood to make Shikhandi a husband and then reclaims it to make Somavat a wife. There is Arjuna, a great warrior with many wives, who is forced to masquerade as a woman after being castrated by a nymph. There is Ileshwar Mahadev, god on full moon days and goddess of new moon nights and Adi-Natha, the teacher of teachers, worshipped as a hermit by Yaja and an enchantress by Upayaja. And finally there is Yuvanashva, the hero, king of Vallabhi, who after marrying three times to three very different women, creates a life within him, as mothers do, and then a life outside him, as fathers do, and wonders if he is either, neither or both.

If biology is destiny, if gender is a cornerstone of dharma, then how does Yuvanashva make room for such disruptions in order? For a good king, who wants to be great, must be fair to all: those here, those there and all those in between."

Watch this space!

So many things to talk about, but I'm keeping a zipped lip until Sunday. Watch this space Sunday evening, and look out for us in DNA Bangalore!

In the meantime:

Bangalore Queer Pride is still coming up, and we still needs ze moolah to do all the fab things we want to do for you. And so, please look at this pig. Isn't she still the most adorable pig in the world? How can you not want to give her stuff?

You might also want to participate/contribute/save time for specific events.
We're having:
The TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE!
The GARAGE SALE!
A MELA!
Three PANEL DISCUSSIONS!
A huge, huge, multi-project PHOTO EXHIBIT!
A week of THEATRE!
A LITERARY DAY (for both English and Kannada readers and writers!)
And of course: the QUEER PRIDE MARCH, so get your walking glad rags ready!

I am out of exclamation points, my darlings. 

BANGALURU PRIDE AND KARNATAKA QUEER HABBA - donations very, very welcome

SILENCE IS VIOLENCE - against apathy

Link to event page on FB In lieu of the recent cases and cases we have been hearing forever and after, of incidents of violence against women, a few of us have decided to come together to raise our voices. Express dissent. For how can you not see the evil, hear it, speak of it when it exists all around you? How can there so much apathy when Pinki Pramanik was humiliated? How can you raise again and again questions of character of the victim when a minor gets assaulted on the streets of Guwahati by 20 men, all who's faces we have seen on Facebook but the police have been unable to reprimand? We have decided to show our dissent on a working day, working for office goers, homemakers, freelancers, all of us in various roles. We will drop everything we are doing at 10 am and head for the venue to reach it by 11 am in the middle of the week on 26th July, a Thursday. We think enough is enough and this one day we refuse to contribute - to productivity in our offices, to the food larder at homes, to our clients or our children. So, we will leave our 'work' and go to the venue to spend time with each other, sharing, sloganing, singing, telling stories, teaching each other what we know, learning from each other what we don't. And then from all of us in Bangalore we will write a note to the police in Assam to take action on the attackers of the victim of the Guwahati incident. We will sign our demand - not an appeal or a petition and send it. How long can they remain silent if women from every city, town and village do the same? How long? And if nothing happens still, we will do this again. And again. Let us gather as women, as men who understand, as citizens, as humans, to show that even SILENCE IS VIOLENCE. Raise our voices. Be heard! Organisations Joining hands for Silence is Violence: Citizens Against Violence Ridhdhi Vimochana rAFIKI (Waiting for more) PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN PLACARDS: How to make a placard: Get some old cardboard box and flatten it to cut out the size of placard you want. Stick chart paper on it. Write/ paint the slogan/ pics you want on it in any language. make it large so people at least 15 feet away can read it. Make two holes on the top two corners with eyelets. Tie a string and hang it around your neck. Date: 26th July 20122 Time: 11 am venue: Town hall, Bangalore Organised by  By Neelima Prasanna Aryan, Srimatha Ramanand and Arundhati Ghosh. I think this is a great idea, and a good first step to take - I hope to see some of you there.

Story of a modern disease.

You are going to read about a girl. Can we address her as ‘she’? Oh yes, I think you can.

Call her ‘ she’ or actually, call her whatever you want, she just want to know that you are listening.

She likes feeling good, just like you do, but sometimes it’s impossible. She still manages somehow. She will love you a lot but that can’t evade a major problem she has. She is suffering from a bizarre disease and has been picked on for it, ever since she spilled into her mother’s womb.

She likes to be herself.

Disgusting, right? She has been told that.

Wherever she goes, she bares herself. She talks she like would, she spews out thoughts in cups, she lets her tongue wring on papers, she wants her mother to see her disease. You should understand how disappointed her parents are with this deformity. Clearly, she has no morals or sensibility to understand them. She is outrageous and has dared to love too. A man. A strange man. Skank, did that too.

Loving, desiring someone while being ‘yourself’, she is in a desperate need of therapy. You must agree. So on a sunny day, her parents took her to a hospital to remove that ‘yourself’. People in her family thought that she stank of ‘yourself’. She started hiding it in longer shirts and drab shoes, people say it would help her become better but still, how sad, ‘yourself’ sprung over her face like fire.

Worse, she stopped hiding it.

It had a distinct smell that her house hated, people questioned and only a very few people, captured it in tiny bottles to store in their heads. Doctors frisked her pants for the cause of her ailment. She writhed on the stretcher.

It leaks through the skin like puss, her mother thinks. Being ‘yourself’ is the worst thing a good child should do. It's mortifying, Oxford dictionary can add-flabbergasting, blasphemous, horrendous. It's so fucking obvious and why can't she choose something better? Earn money and let this down die down. Walk freely on streets and let this die down.

She is still ‘yourself’ after countless storms in hospital rooms, therapy rooms, family rooms, rape rooms, doomed rooms, class rooms, temple rooms, roomless rooms and she has to be helped.

If you have any constructive feedbacks or numbers of helpful doctors, please inbox her parents.

They will acknowledge your effort.

(Want more of this- Winks, poems, whispers and doodles like the one of top? Come over at, sootahwords.blogspot.in)

Karnataka Police Acts criminalises the hijra community

Reposting here with permission. The matter in question is the amendment of the Karnataka Police Act, with provisions (lifted from Acts set down by the British a century ago) that criminalise the hijra community. The Amendments have been passed, and the last CSMR meeting was held to address the new concerns raised.

Dear All

Here are the brief minutes of yesterday's CSMR meeting on the Karnataka Police Act: (next meeting on Wednesday, 25th July at 6pm)

There were around 20 people present including individuals representing from Aneka, Sangama, Karnataka Sexual Minorities Forum, PUCL (Karnataka), Lawyers Collective and ALF

The Amendments to the Police Act have been passed despite our efforts last year petitioning the government, and the Governor. These amendments are very dangerous and need to be struck off the statute book, we cannot depend on the government's assurance on whether they will use these laws or not. The law specifies that hijras who kidnap children, indulge in unnatural offences, and offences of this nature will be listed in a register, and this register can be used to summon those listed. This is based on the model of the Criminal Tribes Act that has been repealed.

The consensus from those present was that we need to work towards more awareness about these amendments within the LGBT/sexual minority community, and that we need to respond to the law at parallel levels -- talking to government officials, protests, media advocacy, and preparing for a possible challenge in court.

The first step will be a public meeting that we have planned where we will invite representatives of the BJP, Congress and JD(S), including the Law Minister Mr Suresh Kumar. The date we will suggest to the Minister is August 1st. We will finalise the date depending on his availability. We will also invite Motamma/Manjula Naidu from the Congress, Ramesh Babu/Narayanswamy from the JD(S) and the singer and Member of Parliament B. Jayashree as the Chief Guest. We will finalise a moderator and one person from the hijra and jogappa community to speak at this event. BT Venkatesh and Arvind Narrain will speak about the legal aspects of the amendments.

The suggested venues were NGO Hall and Rotary Club, depending on availability

We will also organise a Press Conference on the day before the meeting

We also discussed the possibility of getting an MLA to ask a question on this issue during zero hour in the Assembly session

Arvind and Siddharth from ALF  will work on a pamphlet that will be translated into Kannada (Sangama to do this)  and Tamil (Niruj will be requested to translate) - this pamphlet can be distributed to the LGBT community and also during the events we organise.

There will be a follow up meeting next Wednesday on 25th July at ALF at 6 pm to finalise the date and details related to the public meeting, Please do try and make it for this meeting since we need to mobilise as much support as possible to put pressure on the government to repeal this black law.


In solidarity

Siddharth